Rosemarie Freeny Harding’s "Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism, and Mothering" examines the life and history of Rosemarie and her family. This memoir reflects on Rosemarie’s life as well as the knowledge and experienced that she gained throughout. Sadly, Rosemarie passed away before she could finish the memoir, but her daughter Rachel Elizabeth Harding was able to pick up where she left off. Rosemarie starts off her memoir by discussing her family and how they helped to shape the person that she would later become. She grew up the youngest of 9 children under her parents Ella and Dock Freeney in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents lived in Georgia during a time when Racism and hostility toward black people were running rampant in the south. Through the stories and experiences that Ella and Dock shared with her Rosemarie found the building blocks of what she would do the rest of her life. Hearing her parents tell those stories about living in the south sparked her interest in the civil rights movement and other forms of activism.
From that point on Rosemarie decided to donate money and countless hours to help the oppressed and those in underprivileged communities. Rosemarie used stories, told from her family’s perspective, to stress how it is essential to find yourself on a spiritual level, regardless of whatever religion you practice. The stories told stressed the importance of showing love and support to your children while also highlighting that it is okay for them to make changes if they believe they are being oppressed.
Rosemarie was a very spiritual person. She and her husband, Vincent G. Harding, were both members of the Mennonite Service Committee. The two moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1960 where the two would create The Mennonite House. The Mennonite House served as a headquarters for Mennonites that were engaged in the civil rights movement, regardless of their race. Overall, Rosemarie was just looking to help others. On top of being a Mennonite, she expanded her spirituality when she traveled to India to learn about Buddhism as well as explore. While she participated in many movements and many events Rosemarie still had time to focus on being a good mother to her children. She instilled all of the love that she showed to others into her children so that they too could grow up to live a life full of spirituality and standing up for what they believed in.
While reading this memoir, I was able to see into the life, and struggles, of African Americans living in the United States during a turbulent time in our country. The stories that Rosemarie told about her family’s past were very moving and inspiring. However, I did have a hard time being able to connect to the stories that were being told. I believe that the audience for this book could really be anyone that is looking to gain knowledge about the lives of African Americans in U.S., but I do believe it may be geared more towards African Americans looking to learn about the struggles that blacks faced and how they were able to overcome some of them. Even though I believe it was geared more towards African Americans I was able to connect with the spiritual aspects that Rosemarie was teaching. I believe that skin color should have no effect on what we can and can’t learn from one another. Rosemarie and her daughter did a fantastic job of creating a powerful book that people can connect to spiritually and emotionally. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
